About Peak Oil and Gender

About Peak Oil and Gender …..

There has been much good written about ways of re-creating our society in a partnership model, as different from the dominator continuum . Riane Eisler is the originator of this paradigm, and she is modeling this in her own lifework. Neither she or I am proposing that women and men model separate types of behavior exclusively – but, if you have the chance to participate in women’s groups and note their leadership style, you will also note that there is a great deal to be emulated for our society and governance as a whole.

Spirituality has become the word of the hour. But what is spirituality? What does being spiritual mean? For me, as for many others, spirituality means feeling at one with that which we call the divine. But when I think of the divine I… think of our own most evolved qualities: our profound human capacity for empathy, for love, our striving for justice, our hunger for beauty, our yearning to create. I think being spiritual means being ethical and, in the true sense of the word, moral.”
-Riane Eisler

Why not take the conversation about spirituality and gender balance one step further …if you dare!

I am happy to say that recently the WELL (Willits Economic LocaLization) group in Willits voted to make gender a priority in our governance documents. This is significant in the Peak Oil movement which is predominately lead by men and whose opinion leaders are also almost exclusively white, male and over 40. This is understandable, since the science and information that guides this trend comes from oil geology, climate theorists and geologists, most of whom have worked in the hallowed halls of industry and academia for decades to get their “take” on the situation. I am not debating their qualifications to get us the undeniable information and facts.

However, my concern is the present lack of numbers of women and youth as speakers and presenters of this information. And, further - the lack of balance between the much heralded intellectual/action oriented skills and the relational/nurturance skills that will also be very much required under duress or conditions of change as imagined in most peak oil scenarios. This very thing could doom us to failure of future – we are not hearing the voice of balance – not only gender, but the component I choose to call divine feminine. Yes, I am jumping into a discussion of spirit and values here.

The Divine Feminine movement is about re-establishing values that our cultural paradigm (shall we say it - patriarchy ) considers “feminine,” and has rendered insignificant and of less value. The qualities of relationship building, caring and nurturing are among them. I would add the value of cooperation instead of competition is on my list – although we can argue that it is hardly a gender issue. The important point is that we always create the future using the tools of the present, and the process is the end result. This, guided by the values of nurture and cooperation - we will create a future climate of kindness, compassion, justice and fairness. Peace and wholeness might prevail for ourselves and our children. It might mean and end to war and environmental disaster. It would mean the end of a climate of power over and domination, as the partnership model would be valued as preeminent.

This discussion has a spiritual element, actually – its very center, and I believe this is the true key to bringing the Balance back. Our cultural role model is a Masculine God (and His Son or prophets – all male) How can we worship within a mythology that has no female element to it – even though almost all life on this planet comes out of the female? The spiritual future we would create requires bringing back into balance the male and female faces of God,

placing the Sacred Feminine alongside the Divine Masculine that has ruled alone for over 4000 years. Perhaps the newfound interest in the Mary Magdalene mystery is due to this need for balance. What if the message of Christianity has been sidelined for these years, and really was meant to come from the wisdom of a woman and man – in balance? To quote the famous Bahai leader, Abdul-Baha, “We believe the world of humanity is possessed of two wings: the male and the female. So long as these two wings are not equivalent in strength, the bird will not fly.”

The Divine Feminine movement is about partnership, not just among genders, but within society, institutions and governments, for all peoples. It’s potential is the peaceful future of justice, love and relationship we all crave. How can we bring it into action? Start by ending the denial of such a thing. We can grow from there.

“Human Evolution is now at a crossroads. Stripped to its essentials, the central human task is how to organize society to promote the survival of our species and the development of our unique potentials. A partnership society offers us a viable alternative.“

Riane Eisler
The Chalice and The Blade <>
<>- Wishing you the best of our alternative future <>…Ann Brigit Waters Weller